North End Sports Commissioner Has Strong Ties to Neighborhood

John Romano was born in the North End and grew up here on Commercial Street.

“When I was a kid, I played baseball in the North End Athletic Association,” he said recently. “When I grew up, there were always volunteers to ensure that me and my friends had a league to play in so I wanted to be able to give back and ensure that other kids would be able to have the same opportunity that I had.”

Currently, John lives in Wilmington with his wife, Patricia.

He works for the Massachusetts Department of Transportation in public and government affairs.

But John’s ties to the North End are strong.

He’s the baseball coordinator and soccer commissioner for the North End Athletic Association.

John will continue to run the baseball program in the spring (the first Saturday in April) and the soccer program in the fall (starting the second week of September).

He’s the former president of the North End Music and Performing Arts Center.

The center provides affordable arts programming for residents of the North End/Waterfront and surrounding neighborhoods.

John is also the president until January 8 of North End Against Drugs, an organization promoting a drug and alcohol free environment for the local community. It provides educational, recreational and cultural activities for the local youth and their families.

John helped start NEAD 23 years ago. (By the way, it is a 501(3) c non-profit organization.)

He moved away from the North End years ago.

“I was studying at Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston,” John said. “My parents moved to Malden and I was living with them.”

A while later, John and Patricia got married.

“After we were married, we moved to Malden and then moved back to the North End for a few years,” John said. “Then we moved to Wilmington where we’ve lived for the last 15 years.”

John and Patricia have two sons: John and Chris.

John, 18, goes to UMass Lowell where he is a freshman.

Chris, 16, attends Wilmington High School.

“My two sons are my pride and joy and I’m extremely proud of them,” John said.